William Miller awaits a facelift!

The first time I stood there, I was a nervous wreck! Holding a piece of paper in which I had copied out the headlines of the day, I stood there nervously awaiting my turn. I had created mental images of myself, standing there and reading out the news, full of confidence, with a deep resonating voice of Kabir Bedi. However, the final product, when my turn came was something in-between a squeak and a squawk – a part-consequence of my voice choosing that most inappropriate time to graduate into adulthood! I managed to stutter out the contents of the page to a hapless audience, who by the way had little choice in the matter – when it came to listening! The ordeal finally over I dashed back into safe anonymity of another 300 pairs of legs that stood and shuffled in uncomfortable silence.

The weekly assembly in the Miller Hall was an ordeal that stays fresh in the mind, almost a quarter of a century later. But not all memories of this wonderful building are so macabre. Many were the wonderful Christmas dinners that we enjoyed in the company of several other families of school teachers. Memories of Avarachettan serving us generous dollops of freshly-made ice-cream also come to mind; as do the several memorable plays and music performances that were staged in that hall.

The Miller Hall has, for several decades been a memory-laden landmark for those students who have passed out of the portals of MCC School. A multi-purpose hall, it was a canteen by day, a dining hall for the hostel students by night, and transformed itself into several other things during the course of its fifty-plus years of existence. For those old students who visit school, a peek into the Miller Hall is a must-do activity as part of their pilgrimage to the alma mater. Talk to any old student, and they will have a story to tell about the Miller Hall.

"And so the Miller Hall Project, I thought, would be the most appropriate way to celebrate 175 years of the existence of our wonderful school. What do you guys think?" The Headmaster's question brought me back into the present. Mr. GJ Manohar, Headmaster of MCC School was presenting his vision of transforming the now crumbling edifice into a more modern 'designed for multi-purpose' building that would serve the students of the future. We hope to hear more when he announces his ambitious plans for the school as part of the 175^th year celebrations.

If you are an old student of MCC School, take that walk down memory lane. I would love to hear your stories about the school and Miller Hall in particular.

Reservation, women empowerment and Microfinance

There is a huge debate going on about the women's reservation bill. While some of them who are genuinely interested in not seeing this go through, have taken recourse to the extreme step of disrupting assembly proceedings, the vast majority still belong to those who seem to be indifferent to the whole issue. However, there are still others like my good friend Sukumar, who wonders whether this reservation can be extended to other walks of life too, including corporate life. The microfinance movement in that sense has been a great leveler. With women being the preferred clients of more than 99% of the microfinance institutions, urban and rural women among the poorer sections of society seem to be wielding greater influence in their own lives as well as that of their families, and to some extent the societies they live in.

I was privileged to be one of the guest speakers at the recent Business Line Guest Lecture series conducted at the Saveetha University's School of Management. Mr. Vasudevan of Equitas who was presented the special address spoke of the role of microfinance in empowering the women in these societies. While Microfinance may not actually alleviate poverty, what it certainly has managed to do is to make women go beyond the portals of their homes and become even more independent. It was quite a revelation to either discover that more than 60% of the women who are part of the microfinance movement are widows, or have been abandoned by their husbands; the vast majority of those who did have husbands living with them, were probably worse off than those who did not have a male member supporting the family! And in a society where the woman has predominantly been viewed as someone who cooks and cleans, microfinance has been their source of deliverance – given them new respect in their families, and in society. They are now independent, and thanks to their ability to bring home the money, have started having a say in their personal lives.

Why are women preferred over men for offering microfinance services? Well, according to most MFIs, women are more reliable and trustworthy. They are a lot more responsible than men, and have a better understanding of how to stretch the rupee to meet their monthly expenses. More importantly, women are more conscientious about returning the money they have borrowed – which perhaps accounts for the incredibly low default rates we see among MFIs.

How does this translate to reservations or women empowerment? Microfinance has allowed women to start playing a role that extends beyond the fireplace. They now are beginning to have a say in how the money is spent, and are able to influence decisions on savings, education and healthcare for their children. More importantly, some of them assume leadership roles in the SHGs, and this in turn is giving them the power to voice their opinion in community meetings. This is surely transformational in nature, and with SHGs forming clusters, these women will begin to expand their circle of influence. If the MF experience is anything to go by, then we should definitely see a positive impact of women getting into politics. And until such time that this does not happen through a process of natural selection, it may be necessary to introduce legislation to create that momentum.

Yatra Naryastu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devata

Where women are worshipped, there live the Gods.

I believe that we do need reservation, if nothing else to help in restoring balance…or help tilt the scale a wee bit to the feminine side.